Kamaru Usman is looking for a good opponent. The Nigerian has called out Khamzat Chimaev and challenged him to cut weight and fight at 170. The Chechen, instead, dared Usman to come up to 185. Until the two can agree on a weight class, the fight is in limbo.
The former welterweight champion has been looking to get back into title contention after his loss to Leon Edwards. And a fight against a popular fighter with name recognition could slingshot him toward the front of the line. With his fight against ‘Borz’ going nowhere, the 36-year old has set his sights on another opponent, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
Kamaru Usman expresses desire to fight Wonderboy
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In an interview with TMZ Sports, the Nigerian spoke about his desire to fight ‘Wonderboy’ as he is the only potential opponent in the welterweight division who makes sense. “I’ve done everything there is to do. The only guy that, to be honest, that even make sense right now is Wonderboy, ’cause he needs an opponent,” Usman told TMZ Sports. “Wonderboy’s been around for so long, and he’s just that name to where it’s always a good fight,” he added.
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Both ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ and Wonderboy have a clear goal – to become the welterweight champion of the UFC. Both have widespread popularity and dedicated fan bases who would love to see the two meet. Stylistically, Thompson is a sniper and relies on his speed and accuracy of strikes. Usman, of course, has excellent wrestling but is also a lethal sniper.
Fans react to Kamaru Usman calling out Wonderboy
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Fans were quick to react on Usman’s statements. Here is a snapshot of what the fans had to say on Instagram:
- “All of a sudden everyone in the division beats Usman because the new welterweight champion was able to beat him lol”
- “Maaaan – “yeah I could out wrestle this guy for 15 minutes to get a win””
- “Wonderboy via head kick”
- “This is what WB has wanted for forever. He’s been fighting down basically since the Gilbert fight”
- “He’s doing a bit of a Jake Paul and picking guys he knows he can beat.”
- “This is like when Conor wanted a tune up fight with Diego sanchez”
- “Loool mate wonderboys 40 why dont u fight the people that been calling you out your a wrestler hes a striker now all of a sudden he wants to fight wonderboy just so he can get back in the win column”
- “Nightmare matchup for Wonderboy tbh”
- “Want to wrestle? Because that’ll be what happens”
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Wonderboy, who called off his bout against Michel Pereira after the latter failed to make weight, too, is in the market for an exciting opponent. And Usman seems like the perfect opponent for him now. A win would most likely fast-track him towards a title shot. A loss, however, could see the 40-year-old go to the back of the bus.
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